Manager Of A Cocaine Importation Conspiracy Sentenced To Eight Years In Federal Prison

Orlando, Florida – Senior United States District Judge G. Kendall Sharp has sentenced Lakisha Abney (33, Washington, D.C.) to eight years and one month in federal prison for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. She pleaded guilty on July 20, 2016.

According to court documents, in May 2016, Abney and her co-conspirators, Shawnta Aiken, Ciera Bryant, and Shenique Milbourne, traveled to Jamaica aboard a commercial cruise ship. Upon arriving in Jamaica, Abney coordinated a meeting with an individual who provided the four women with more than six kilograms of cocaine concealed in bras and underwear. Abney paid the individual for the cocaine and the four women returned to the cruise ship with the cocaine concealed under their dresses in the bras and underwear. The women then concealed the drugs in the cabin they shared aboard the cruise ship for the remainder of the cruise. When the ship returned to Port Canaveral, Abney and her co-conspirators departed the ship and entered the customs area of the port, with the cocaine concealed in their bras and underwear. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers identified the cocaine during screenings and searches of the four passengers. 

Aiken, Bryant, and Milbourne previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for their roles in this case. Aiken was sentenced to two years in federal prison, Bryant was sentenced to one year and ten months in federal prison, and Milbourne was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.